ELLO PEOPLE! Did not really have the intention to blog today but well, after reading the tagboard and Gabby's post, I am touched by the fact that there are still some readers around here. So yup, for you readers out there, I am going to write a new post today. =)
Hmm.. Since there isn't much for me to say about myself, I think that it would be good if I just talk about something which I guess many of you out there have experienced.
I understand that many of the readers of this blog are polytechnic students. Which means to say, many of you have experience handling projects and group assignments with your fellow classmates, whom can be intimately known as "friends" as well.
As we all know, polytechnic education is trying to imitate the working environment in the society. This means that there are more team projects rather than individual tests to assess the capabilities of each individuals. However, there are two major flaws involved in the implementation of such a system and the following paragraphs will help to elaborate my arguments.
1. Colleagues and the "friends" in polytechnic are different.
As far as I know, it is very difficult to become very good friends with your working colleagues. This could be due to the lack of interaction time between both parties, or that both are older in age and are more likely to spend time with their families instead of pursuing entertainment with friends. Either way, it is very unlikely that working colleagues can become friends.
On the other hand, friendships are easily forged during polytechnic times. Besides the time that you and your classmates spend together in school, there are other activities which most teenagers perform as well, and this includes shopping together, going to the beach, playing sports, etc.. All these activites will help to develop a strong bond between any 2 parties.
Here comes the dilemna. During project work, are you able to give out orders to your friends the same way you do to your colleagues? Are you able to say and scold them should they not complete their tasks on time? Because of the friendship that you have forged with them previously, I guess many of your answers would be a flat "No."
Yes, some may argue back, saying that there are Peer Evaluation Forms to be filled up after the completion of the projects. However, let me bring forward this point: How many of you would state the truth and mark your friends down? In contrast, who would give everybody in the group equal marks and develop the thinking that the project has already been completed and there is no point being so petty? I guess the answer here is pretty obvious.
2. Working environment consists of a huge motivating factor: Money
I believe that most of the working adults out there are working to meet end needs. Money is given to those who are capable and are able to maximise profits for the company. People work hard to get promotions, to become recognised and ultimately, to earn more money for themselves and their families.
Marks, on the other hand, are not so much of a motivating factor to many individuals. Do not be suprised when I say that many people just want to scrape a pass in polytechnics and get the diploma at the end of the 3 years. Marks to them are crap. There is no difference between an A and a D grade. Therefore, when it comes to project work, they just do it the "anyhow" way, get those "anyhow" marks and are satisfied with it. In the process, of course, they neglected those who wants to do well in their studies and pulled them down to the slump that they chose to belong to.
Money is a need to everyone, marks isn't. Face it. There are plenty of students out there who just fail to realise that marks are required for them to get the money in the future.
With the above mentioned flaws in the current system, I think that the grades given out by the polytechnics for project works are not reflective of the capabilites of each individual students. In conclusion, I feel that more can be done to improve the current situation and hopefully, in the future, the better students can be distinguished more effectively.
Scandalous - Delvetures
Note: This post is not targeted at any particular person. Please do not be offended by the content in this post. I am writing purely out of inspiration. Thank you. =)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
10:57 PM
Well. It seems my partner-in-crime is back and it's good news for me cause I WON'T BE THE ONLY ONE MAINTAINING THIS BLOG WHEN 3 PEOPLE OWNS IT. =D
2 weeks no see and I hope there are still readers roaming around this blog. (is there even any to begin with?) Sad enough to say, I haven't receive my pay from SIM yet and I've worked for 9 weeks. However, it's quite relieving to hear that there are also people that are in the same situation as me =D. Personally, I have not much use for the money so I am not making quite a big fuss out of it.
Weekends pass by really fast, especially when you are having fun. Basically, I rotted for the whole of today, and it is quite normal for a person like me. On the contray, I went out for the whole day of yesterday. Met ln and kc for lunch. After lunch, we went to take the tickets while waiting for yh to arrive. Ln suggested that we go in first cause she will be late and we did. Overall the movie was really nice. Touching and meaningful. I thought I would have cry/teared but I didn't. (Zai bo?) After the movie we begin to slack around Marina Square. Had our dinner at the food court before heading to watch dance competition. Beautrice was in it and it was the finals of the competition. Lazy to type the details. Want to find out more go to one of my friend's blog. (Slowly go click =D)
I'm used to typing my updates in the first half of the entry, and then talk about a topic in the second.
I thought of a topic for a very long time like 15 mins and I couldn't think of one. I kept thinking and thinking and finally decided on a topic which is abit relevant to the anime I watched this morning. The main 7 sins of human - Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Pride. Which one of the 7 is regarded as the most dangerous to mankind? I believe that there will be different answers from different people. When I ask myself this question, I really had a hard time coming up with an answer. No matter how I looked at it, 7 of them are as deadly as one another.
Lust - This is a sin, in my opinion, is usually found in man. Lust in this case, meaning lust for sex. Man is a very, erm, horny species. They can hardly resist to the temptation of woman. This sounds dangerous as there still no cure for AIDS at the moment =D.
Gluttony - Eat and eat and eat and eat. I don't think this is really a huge problem for the majority of the human race as most of us, want to look good and stay healthy.
Envy - Jealous is almost another name for it. I feel that envy is a good thing. However, over-excess of envy will turn to jealousy. This is one reason to why, huamns can never be satisfied. We always want what we don't have and yet other's do.
Greed - By far, I think it's the most threating sin of the 7. Greed is like the root for almost all the other 6 sins. They say money is the root of all evil. For eg, corruption takes place because of greed. Suffering will occur because of corruption. Thus, it is quite fair that it is No.1.
Sloth - Laziness. It is in me and I don't find it quite disturbing =x.
Wrath - WRATH LEH ZEUS. Sorry for the lame joke but this is the first thing comes to my mind when I see this word. Anger. This is quite a huge weakness. Some people though have good anger management. Whenever we are angry, we would often show our temper to the one that caused you to be angry and sadly, to other innocent ones too. This is the reason why I feel that it is one of the top-ranked sins.
Pride - When it's time to say sorry, it's time to say sorry. Pride is a must to have but not too much. Too much pride can lead to trouble. Sometimes, it is better to swollow down your pride than to push it out from your chest.
Today's post is just a summerized version of each sin. This is quite an interesting topic and I'm sure that a more elaborated version will soon be coming. At least, I have a rough idea on what to write for the next 7 posts.
Quote of the day: It's true that you can do whatever to yourself as it is your 'life'.. However, don't forget you 'life' revolves around othes'
Unscandalous - Gabby
Saturday, September 6, 2008
8:04 PM
HEYY PEOPLE! After close to 10 years of MIA-ing, I have decided to come back and do something productive here. Hee.
Judging from my tone, you guys must be expecting me to bring in something joyous right? Well, you guys are right! I am here to annouce that I am finally 18! More freedom, less restrictions in the eyes of the law and of course, more self-responsibility. (Ohh, that sounded serious. =X)
Anyway, I had the greatest birthday celebrations of all time this year. On Thursday (which was the actual day of my birthday), Cynthia and I went to Vivocity to celebrate this special occassion. She prepared a string of suprises for me, so much so that I began to teared after she showed me the video clip which she made. It was very touching and I really appreciate her efforts a lot, a lot. It was the first time that she celebrated my birthday with me, and needless to say, this is one day which will remain in my memory bank for the many years to come. The video clip is extremely well-done (not in the graphical sense if you guys are thinking of that), but is more than enough to melt me. The efforts put in to make a 3-min video clip is definitely not little. Having said that much, I think you guys must be wondering what the video is right? Well, not to disappoint you readers out there, I promise that I shall put the video clip up on this blog as soon as I have it. Something to look forward to eh? Hahaha. And yea, Cynthia also whipped up a box of Pineapple Tarts as a box of present to me. Updates: My family and I have finished the box of pineapple tarts, and no doubts, the pineapple tarts are very delicious. Even my mum sang praises for it. =D
My birthday celebrations however, did not stopped on Thursday. On Friday, Cynthia and I joined my clique as we took the skytrain out of this small island to yet another smaller island known as Sentosa. Common knowledge as it is, huge parts of Sentosa are currently under development. Hence, there wasn't really many places for us to visit, and I guess that was why we settled down on the beach instead. Beach activities soon ensued, with all of us playing "Monkey", beach volleyball, beach soccer and of course, taking a dip in the sea. It was a fun day spent catching up with those pals and exercising myself. THANKS FOR THE PRESENTS AND THE CAKE DUDES! Special credits to my clique as they baked a cake for me. XIE XIE NI MEN! Hahaha!
After reading all my birthday celebrations, don't you readers out there feel like there is a particular group of friends missing out from my birthday celebrations? *Ahem!* Well, you all know who you are, I shan't reveal too much. (Actually not so despo lahz. Lol. Just hoping to catch up with you guys soon.) =)
Hmm. After talking about my celebrations, I feel that I owe the readers an explanation regarding my MIA. Hahaha. Not so serious lahz, but yea, I stopped posting because of the immense workload that I had on hand before school term ended. Just a brief summary of what happened during the few months, my team was one of the finalists in the SIMBIZ challenge (School Category), I did not do well for the most intense project for one of the modules, getting only 66 marks, I stopped going to work for the whole of August because of the semestral examinations, I almost screw some people up because of some problems that they had with me, I had a small tiff with my girlfriend prior to my birthday celebrations, and many many more which I just can't seem to be able to recall now. Lol.
Alright then folks, I hope you guys have enjoyed reading. One piece of advice before I end off, do cherish the people around you. You will never know what lies ahead in the journey of life.
With that, I hope you guys have an enjoyable weekends. Cya around!
Scandalous - Delvetures
